So a year ago today, Turkey has started the invasion of NE Syria. On the first day of the attack, Ankara shelled all the major cities along the border. Everyone expected it after Trump announced the withdrawal nonetheless, panic spread, many people found themselves with no home
Turkey targetted prisons and camps where ISIS-affiliated people were being held. This was extremely problematic. In this picture the prison in Ain Issa
During summer I spent a long time in Ain Issa camp to film my latest documentary about Western women who joined ISIS, this was the scene less than a month after the attack. The protagonist of our film escaped to Turkey.
Also during summer I spent some time in the city in Sere Kanye. So vibrant, so nice. I think of all the friends who lost their homes and the days where children were playing on the streets are far gone.(pic July 2019 during Eid)
The most surreal thing about this new conflict, that less than six months before, on March 23, the SDF defeated ISIS militarily and was praised by the International community. Now they were completely left alone
(Pics from the celebration in Baghouz)
I will make a seperate thread about Hevrin Khalef, the co-secretary of the Syrian Future party, who was executed on the road by a group TFSA, the Turkish trained and equipped jihadists, who terrorized civilians. Turkey targetted especially women
Anyway, while several ceasefires were negotiated in both Ankara and Moscow, the European leaders started sanctioning Turkey and claimed they would stop selling weapons to Ankara. This is what they claimed, of course in a few months everything went back to normal
The war continued in the following months despite the ceasefires. Turkey tried to push inland and far away from the border and the territory. This pic was taken in the city of Zergan at the time one of the "hottest" frontline
One of the nicest memory I have in a time of sorrow, it is from October 17, when we were going back to Qamishlo and on the road, this SDF fighter played a song for us while taking a break
As I am writing this thread the situation is far from solved. People of NE Syria expect a new wave of attacks. Turkish proxies are carrying out ethnic cleansing in all the areas under their control. They kidnap civilians, continue with violence, and try to wipe out the Kurds
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